The present invention relates generally to warp knitted fabrics and methods of producing such fabrics and, more particularly, to a warp knitted fabric having a pattern of pleated fabric sections arrayed coursewise and walewise over one face of the fabric.
The warp knitting of textile fabrics is a relatively well developed art in which various forms of machines are known to be capable of adjustable set-up to knit various types and sizes of selected yarns in various stitch patterns in order to create wide varieties of differing types of fabrics with diverse surface effects and appearances. One known fabric patterning technique used for creating pleated fabric effects is to warp knit one set of warp yarns in a predetermined stitch pattern forming a ground fabric structure while simultaneously warp knitting a second set of warp yarns to be interknitted with the ground yarns in selected courses while floating across other courses during which the continued knitting of the ground yarns forms the ground fabric structure into a pleat extending coursewise at the locations at which the second set of warp yarns is floated. As will be recognized by persons skilled in the art, the patterning effects available through use of this technique are relatively limited, primarily to the selection of differing sizes and styles of yarns and differing sizes or lengths of floats.